


Three long black chains (connect us)

by sweet_wonderland



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Beverly ships it, Dating, Drama, F/F, Hannigram - Freeform, M/M, Misha ships it, Misunderstandings, Mutal Pining, Romance, Soulmarks, Soulmate AU, The Author Regrets Nothing, Trans Will Graham, cutee af, everyone ships it, my finals are in 2 weeks, what am I doing with my life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-22
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2020-01-24 02:28:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18562087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweet_wonderland/pseuds/sweet_wonderland
Summary: Hannibal was nineteen years old when his soulmark appeared. One day he woke up and found his reflection in the mirror was changed: Instead of nude skin, there were huge grey shapes on his body. Over the next few days, they turned into black shadows and finally into his soulmark appeared in its full glory: Three long chains. They twined themselves around his arms, his torso and all the way down his legs and came to an end at his ankles. Hannibal didn't mind them. He decided that he would never need a soulmate. He wouldn't let biology force someone on him. He wasn't going to let anyone touch his mind.[References to rape and murder]





	Three long black chains (connect us)

Soulmark Theory [səʊlmɑː(r)k ˈθɪəri]:  
Three rules, introduced by the famous researcher Jacques Benveniste.

(1) Rule of Parity

Everyone has a soulmate and a soulmark. It's very unlikely for soulmates to meet. An estimated 0.1% of the human population know their soulmate in person.

(2) Rule of Diversity

Soulmarks can have a lot of shapes and sizes, the most common places for soulmarks are: Chest, ribs, hands, arms, stomach and back. Many sources claim that a larger size indicates a higher compatibility. However, there aren't enough studies to support this thesis.

(3) Rule of Advantage

Soulmates exist because they provide an evolutionary advantage: Their children have high-functional immune systems and are immune to a variety of diseases. Statistics show that children of soulmates have a higher life expectancy.

__

Hannibal was nineteen years old when his soulmark appeared. One day he woke up and found his reflection in the mirror was changed: Instead of nude skin, there were huge grey shapes on his body. Over the next few days, they turned into black shadows and finally into his soulmark appeared in its full glory: Three long chains. They twined themselves around his arms, his torso and all the way down his legs and came to an end at his ankles. Hannibal didn't mind them. He decided that he would never need a soulmate. Other people bored him, even though he pretended to be interested in them. And, after all, he had his little sister Misha. 

There were years and several care homes between the escape from their abusive parents and being taken in by their rich uncle. At least the soulmark covered up the scars his parents left on him, he thought, when he saw them the first time. Still, there was no place in his life for a soulmate. After taking care of Misha for the last fifteen years, he wasn't ready to care about anyone else besides her. She was his real soulmate, in contrast to someone biology forced on him.  
After all, his soulmate was 19 years younger than him. Even if he ever met them, they would be far too young for him, anyways. So why bother searching for them? With Misha on his side, he would never be alone.

 

Thirty years passed since the first time his soulmark appeared. Still, he inevitably gazed at them in the mirror every day. Hannibal put on his usual clothing: Underwear first. Black and simple. A white shirt and a black tie second, followed by his favourite wine-red suit. With every piece of clothing, he covered more and more of the long chains drawn over his whole body and finally, there was nothing to be seen anymore. Usually, soulmarks are rather small. A symbol on the heart, some lines on the forearm. But his soulmark - it was of a remarkable size. It suited Hannibal, since he thought of himself as remarkable. Few people have seen his soulmark over the span of his life: His sister, Misha, his lovers, male and female ones, his psychologist.  
It was the zeitgeist to hide soulmarks, to give them no space in the modern, rational world. They were considered constricting and a relict of old times when soulmates were seen as holy and made up large parts of the nobility. There used to be huge catalogues with soulmarks and their alleged meanings, people with 'bad' symbold on their skin faced discrimination and prosecution. Hannibal agreed with the zeitgeist. He never felt the need to sign up to a soulmark dating app ot search for his soulmate. Most of the time he felt content with being alone.  
Occasionally, he craved intimacy and took on a lover. 

Looking at himself in the mirror, he decided that he looked drop-dead gorgeous and felt ready to start the day. Then he went into the kitchen and ate breakfast. He was on the way outside for his morning walk when his mobile rung.

'Good morning, Hannibal', Misha Lecter's sweet, high voice said cheerfully.

'Good morning, Misha. I hope you slept well?', Hannibal replied considerate.

'Yes, I did. I hope you did so, too. But that's not why I am calling you. I just realized I got an invitation by an old friend. I totally forgot about it and Violet is busy tonight', Misha explained.

Violet was Misha's fiance. They met during Misha's medicine studies and stayed together even after their graduation. Misha went into research and started exploring the human brain. Violet became a doctor at the local hospital and supported Misha's research, which in the beginning wasn't very lucrative.

'So you thought of me', Hannibal responded.

'Yes, indeed. Will Graham invited me to a talk about his work at the FBI. It seems like they are trying to inform people about profiling and searching for special consultants. I haven't heard a lot from him lately- we were pretty close', Misha explained with a hint of nostalgia in her voice.

'Actually, I have read one of his papers. Time of Death by insect activity. He's quite known amongst psychologists. I'd like to accompany you tonight, Misha', Hannibal explains.

'I'm looking forward to it. Have a nice day, Hannibal', Misha said and ended the call.

During the day, Hannibal found himself thinking of the forthcoming evening several times. Will Graham. He heard of him a few times in research papers. There were a few, very insufficient and unprofessional attempts to diagnose him. The general consensus is that he's on the autistic spectrum and suffers from an empathy disorder. At the same time, said disorder is extremely useful in solving the most cruel crime cases. Hannibal was curious to see Mr. Graham in natura.

 

They met in front of the FBI headquarters. Hannibal got out of the car when right next to him, Misha Lecter parked. They greeted each other fondly. Lately, Misha had been preoccupied with Violet and their adoptive son, while Hannibal was busy with his psychology practice and art. They were still very close - when they got the opportunity to meet each other apart from the usual holiday celebrations.

Together, they went into the huge building. There were signs leading their way and soon they entered the lecture hall. It had lots of seats and they were well-filled already. Misha and Hannibal sat down in the front row and looked around the audience a bit. There were FBI trainees, employees, journalists and a wide variety of psychologists and medical specialists.

'How do you know Will?' Hannibal asks. 'Oh, we were friends back in boarding school. The two of us shared a love for literature and pulled several all-nighters because we couldn't stop discussing the our favourites', Misha replied. Hannibal got a bit confused because his uncle made Misha attended an all-girl's boarding school with no boys allowed. Before he got a chance to inquire, Will Graham stepped into the room. Slowly, the muttering of the audience grew more quiet and eventually, a curious silence grasped the room.

Will Graham walked across the room slowly and finally arrived at the speaker's desk. He shuffled some papers around and raised his head to look around the audience. His eyes scanned the ranks and showed a small sign of recognition when he saw Misha.  
Eventually, he started speaking:

'My name is Will Graham. I am the leading profiler at the Unit for Behavioural Psychology here in Quantico. Our task is to solve murder cases. We get our cases from local police officers, collect evidence, create a profile of the killer and finally catch the felon. This can prove to be very difficult. I'm going to use the following case to illustrate our profiling strategies to you...'

 

Soon, Hannibal found his thoughts drifting away from the topic of the talk and towards Will's physique. He was astonishingly beautiful: bright blue eyes, sweet black curls... Hannibal closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Will Graham's mind obviously isn't the only interesting thing about him. 

After about an hour, Will concluded his talk:

'As I said, our work is complex and requires us to think in as many different directions as possible. To achieve success, we build groups of handpicked medical doctors, experienced officers and psychology specialists. If you belong to one of those groups, please don't hesistate to apply for a consulting position. America's safety stands and falls with a strong police force. Thank you for your attention. Please don't hesitate to ask any questions', Will concluded his talk.

Several hands went up. Will pointed at a young woman and an assistant supplied her with a microphone. She sat up straight and her red hair fell lightly over her shoulders. 'Mr. Graham, is it correct that you aren't an approved member of the FBI forces?', she asked sharply.  
'I'm afraid I won't answer questions about myself', Will replied calmly.  
'So you're confirming my statement? Is it true that you didn't pass the psychological evaluation required to become an agent?', the woman inquired. 

'Miss Lounds, please pass on the microphone', Will replied, this time clearly annoyed.  
'Everyone, is it safe to have an unstable psychopath working on crime cases?' Miss Lounds asks, before passing on the microphone. People started talking audibly and the next speaker had to clear his throat twice before he was able to ask his question. Will Graham remained tense during the whole question session and his answers occasionally turned out shorter than appropriate. Finally, all the questions were answered and several photos were taken. 

Afterwards, Jack Crawford said a few words and encouraged the attendants to consider applying at the Behavioural Science Unit, since they were short of skilled staff. 

Eventually, the whole procedure was over and slowly, the audience started leaving the room. Misha went to the speaker's table to see Will and Hannigram followed her. 

'Good evening, Mr.Graham', Misha said smiling. Will was busy stuffing papers into his bag, and without looking up he answered 'Sorry, I don't take private questions'. 'Ts, you're still as absent-minded as you were during in Mr. Stevenson's history classes!', Misha joked.  
Will looked up and a bright smile overtook his face. Suddenly, he looked several years younger and Hannibal felt a spark of attraction towards Will. 

'Misha! It's so good to see you', Will exclaimed and hugged Misha tightly. They embraced for a while and then let go of each other. 'It's been far too long. You've changed so much!', Will observed. 'You did change a lot, too!', Misha said. 'Indeed. I'm so glad I finally did it after school ended. I don't know how long I'd continued living if I didn't.', Will said and his smile faded a bit. 'Whatever. Last time we talked, you told me about your plans to propose to your fiance! What did she say?'  
'She said yes! We even adopted a child together', Misha said beaming.  
'I'm so happy for you!', Will replied fondly and noticed Hannibal standing near them. He didn't interrupt their happy reunion, so he just stood there the past minutes. Will raised one eyebrow and tilted his head in polite confusion.

Misha noticed and promptly said 'Let me introduce you to my brother, Will!' Hannibal took a step towards Will and extended his hand. Will shook Hannibal's hand. His grip was warm and firm. 'This is Hannibal. I told you a lot about him when we were younger. Now, he's a psychologist and got takes a special interest into fine art and cooking', Misha said. Hannibal could see Will's expression turn a bit wary at the mention of his occupation. 'Clever boy', he thought and put on a polite smile.

'I found your talk very appealing, Will', Hannibal said. 'Thank you, Hannibal', Will replied, 'Are you considering to apply as a consultant?'  
'I'll certainly think about it. How do you cope with it?', he asked. 'Excuse me?', Will replied shortly.  
'You mentioned your high empathy in your talk. I imagine what you see and learn touches everything else in your mind', Hannibal explained.  
'I go fishing. I care for my dogs. That's it', Will replied sharply, avoiding eye contact.  
'Associations come quickly', Hannibal stated.  
'That's enough', Misha interrupted him. 'Hannibal, you're being impolite' 'I apologize. I can't shut mine off any more than you can shut yours off, Will', Hannibal said.  
'Please don't psychoanalyse me. I had enough psychologists picking around in my head', Will explained and looked directly into Hannibal's eyes. Hannibal looked right back into Will's eyes and smiled apologetically. Will's gaze dropped to the floor and then ge turned back to Misha and immediately looked more cheerful again. 

'I thought maybe we could go to a restaurant around here? To celebrate meeting again after such a long time?', Misha asked excitedly. Will didn't seem very enthusiastic. ‘I should head home and take my dogs out. It’s been a long day’, he explained. ‘Alright Will, but let’s meet this week! I want to know everything about what you did after school’, she said with a huge portion of enthusiasm.

‘Alright. How about Friday?’, Will asked, knowing that Misha wouldn’t back off until he promised to meet her again soon.

‘Friday sounds great, why not? Hannibal, will you come along?’, Misha asked. 

‘I’m not sure if it’s appropriate. You know each other from school, I feel like I’d just stand in between you. Also, I’m sure Will would appreciate some psychoanalysis-free time’, Hannibal replied. 

‘Oh, it’s no problem. Come along with us’, Will said to Hannibal’s astonishment. 

‘Alright. I could recommend a fine place in Baltimore. It’s called The Headless Stag. Their meals are less bloody than the name suggests’, Hannibal remarked.

‘Alright. Friday at 7pm?’, Misha asked Will. Will nodded and hugged her farewell. ‘You know, I’m really happy to see you again’, he said. Giving Hannibal a sharp nod, he disappeared into the parking lot outside.

 

The Headless Stag

Will was the first one to arrive. The friendly serves accompanied him to his table and brought him the menu. Will didn’t touch it yet. He wanted to wait for Misha and her brother.

Misha and he have been very close during school times, they declared themselves ‘best friends forever’. After Misha came into his life in 10th grade, they stayed close for several years. But when Will was 22, a letter came, his father died. Despite seeing him only at christmas and easter after his coming-out, he was hit by the sad realization that he was now very, very alone in the world. Surprisingly, his father had a good amount of money saved, which Will inherited. From this money, he paid for his transition and emigrated to Europe. Will Graham was born female, indeed. But early in his twenties, he realized that he wasn’t truly supposed to be female. His father reacted… badly. But he died soon after Will told him, anyways. He never looked back to pre-transition times, and no one in Europe knew. Slowly, the contact between Misha and Will ceased to exist, they were both busy. Will travelled through Europe several months, one day he arrived in London and didn’t leave the city for five full years. He went into police training and once his empathy was recognized by his boss, he went up the career ladder. But one day, there was the Hobbs case… after shooting Garrett Jacob Hobbs a few times too often, he decided to quit the police and returned to America. Due to his former boss at Scotland Yard, he got a teaching post at the FBI Academy in Quantico and started educating the trainees there. Until Jack Crawford came into the lecture hall and asked to borrow his imagination. From there on, everything went downhill again… 

The arrival of the lecter siblings snapped him out of his dark thoughts. ‘Good evening, Misha, good evening, Hannibal’, he greeted them and put on a polite smile. ‘Hello Will’, Misha said and sat down opposite of him. Hannibal took the place right next to her. ‘Good evening, Will. How was your day?’, Hannibal asked. ‘Oh, fine. I held some lessons and went fishing. No serial killers today. What about yours?’, Will replied. ‘I had a nice day as well. What do you fish?’, Hannibal asked with genuine interest. ‘Carps, usually’, Will replied. ‘That’s my favourite fish, actually’, Hannibal said with a smile. 

‘So, what have you been up to after school?’, Misha asked, and Will and her sunk into a laid-back conversation. Hannibal mostly listened and watched Will Graham. He chose a blue button-down shirt today, which emphasised his striking blue eyes. He was slim, but muscular and had a soft, warm skin tone, due to his many outdoor activities. Will’s hair was of a dark brown, almost black, and curly. Hannibal found himself thinking about the potential softness of Will Graham’s hair, when Misha pulled him out of his thoughts. ‘Hannibal? Are you even listening? I just asked you a question’, Misha said, a bit irritated. ‘I apologize. I had a very hard case in my practice today, and I had to refer him to another psychatrist. It frustrates me that I wasn’t able to help him’, Hannibal explained. The first part wasn’t even a lie, but Hannibal was rather happy that he finally got rid of narcissistic, love-sick Franklyn Froideveaux. ‘Oh. I’m sorry to hear that. For how long has he been in your care?’, Will said in a concerned tone. ‘Only a few months. Recently, he became increasingly obsessed with me. He even followed me into the opera and somehow found my private phone number’, Hannibal explained. ‘How annoying. I’m sure I could help you get a restricting order if needed’, Will remarked. ‘Thank you very much, Will. I hope his new psychatrist can handle him better. He had referrals from nine others before he started his therapy with me’, Hannibal said. 

‘Let’s talk about something more cheerful’, Misha suggested,’how is your love life going, dear Will?’ ‘I had a few boyfriends in Europe. Nothing special, nothing permanent’, Will said casually. ‘Ohh, I was hoping for a few good stories!’, Misha said and winked at Will. 'Well, last year there was a graduate who asked me on a date. I refused, obviously. Now she's blushing every time she sees me in Quantico', Will says. 'Oh no, poor her!', Misha exclaimed.

Then the conversation was interrupted by the arrival of their meals: Steak for Misha and Hannibal, fine Italian pasta for Will. Hannibal noticed the way Will engulfed his food. He seemed to not have eaten anything yet, despite the late time of day. 

Will and Misha exchanged old school memories, Hannibal found himself entertained at first, but got bored of their gossip soon. He returned to watching Will. His smile seemed more genuine now as compared to when he held his talk at Quantico. He lost a huge portion of his self-awareness during the evening and was quite charming, actually. 

Around 11pm, they decided to leave. Misha excused herself to the toilet for a few minutes. 

'I enjoyed the evening', Hannibal stated and carefully laid his own hand on top of Will's. 'I'd like to cook for you, Will', he said softly. Will seemed quite taken aback, and didn’t reply immediately. ‘I’m sorry if I offended you, Will’, Hannibal said and slowly pulled back his hand. Will reacted immediately and put his hand over Hannibal’s. ‘I’d love to, but how do I know your interest in me isn’t of a mere professional nature?’, Will asked warily. ‘I guess you’ll have to trust me in that…’, Hannibal said, smirking. Will leaned back in his seat and eyed up Hannibal. ‘As you know, I have an empathy disorder. I can take anyone’s perspective. The waiter over there? A close relative died recently and he’s trying to distract himself from that by flirting with the girl over there. But in reality, he isn’t even truly interested in her. She’s there to satisfy his need for distraction. Misha? She feels guilty because she didn’t call me for so long. Also, she got a dirty secret with her wife, and they’re very likely to break up in the next few months. But when I look at you… I see nothing’, Will remarked. 

‘Does that make you nervous?’, Hannibal asked.  
‘No. It makes me feel like a normal person. But honestly, it makes me a bit scared for what might be hidden under your mask’, Will explained.

Hannibal tilted his head slightly and flashed Will a predatory look. ‘Now, Mr. Graham, who’s psychoanalysing who?’ ‘Alright’, Will replied,‘I planned to go fishing tomorrow. My boat is anchored at the main port in Baltimore. I’ll be there around 7 am. I wouldn’t mind randomly meeting an acquaintance and taking him out to the sea with me’

Hannibal seemed content with Will’s answer.

Woolf Trap, Virginia

Later that night, Will found himself laying in his bed, unable to fall asleep. He clutched his pillow tightly and cuddled with his dogs. Still, his mind didn’t shut up. What if Hannibal didn’t show up? What if he was totally awful and he had to spend several hours with him on the small boat? What if… he actually liked him? Those cheekbones… He certainly wouldn’t mind touching them…  
Will finally fell asleep thinking about Hannibal’s cheekbones. His dreams were full of blood and murder. He woke up several times, changed his T-Shirt and laid down again. His dogs were already fully accustomed to his night terrors and continued sleeping, except for Winston, the lastest stray he had taken in. Winson laid down right beside Will and licked his salty, sweaty arm. ‘Good boy’, Will whispered and fell asleep once more.

At 6am, his alarm ringed. He was already awake and packing his fishing equipment. Finally, he got into his car and headed straight for Baltimore Main Port. When he arrived, Hannibal was already waiting for him. ‘Good morning, Will!’, he said cheerfully. ‘Morning’, Will replied. He wasn’t exactly a morning person, but he tried his best. ‘How did you sleep?, Will asked during the walk to his small boat. ‘Quite well, thanks for inquiring. What about you?’, Hannibal asked. ‘I have nightmares. Every day. I got used to it over time’, Will explained. ‘I thought so’, Hannibal replied. They entered the old but well-kept sailing boat and Will hosted the sails ‘You don’t need to help me’, he said before Hannibal could ask. ‘Explaining everything would take too long’  
‘Alright. I brought breakfast. Eggs with sausage. I call it protein scramble’, Hannibal replied. ‘That’s very kind of you’, Will said and as soon as the boat was on its way out of the port, they sat down and ate together. Hannibal took pleasure in watching Will enjoying the food he made. Whether he was aware of it, Will sighed softly after the first few bites and bit his lip. It was a near pornographic view. Will didn’t seem aware of Hannibal’s keen stare. ‘That’s… amazing’, Will concluded after eating his last bite. Hannibal still had more than three quarters of his food left. ‘I’m glad you liked it. I’d love to cook for you this evening. I could use the fish we’ll catch today’, Hannibal mentioned. ‘I find myself unable to say no’, Will replied and looked sadly at the now empty food box. Then he focussed on the boat again, safely sailing them into a small cave without any others in sight. 'My father introduced me to this place when I was far younger. There are lots of carps around here. It’s ideal for a fishing beginner’, Will explains. ‘Are you close to your father?’, Hannibal asks softly. ‘That’s some lazy psychology you’re using, Doctor Lecter’, Will replies sarcastically. ‘You caught me there. However, in this case, my psychological knowledge and my personal interest overlap quite heavily’, Hannibal remarked. ‘Tell me about your parents first, Hannibal’, Will said while he prepared the fishing rods. ‘Probably Misha told you already. I took her with me and we fled from our parents. After spending several years in various ‘care’ homes, we were traced by our wealthy uncle and put into upscale boarding schools to catch up with our education’, Hannibal explained. His voice stayed calm the whole time, as if he was reciting facts from a history book, except for the word care. He hissed it more than anything else. ‘Misha never talked much about her past’, Will explained. ‘My mother died at my birth. My father was an alcoholic. A teacher helped me to get a stipend at the Saint Mary All Girls’ Boarding School. I stayed there until I was 18. I only went home for the summer holidays. Then, my father tried to make up for my elementary school time and we went fishing quite often. At night, he even went out into the pub to drink and came back late at night, so I didn’t have to witness his problem. As if that changed anything...’, Will said and gave Hannibal one of the fishing rods. Hannibal took it and imitated Will’s movements to attatch the bait to the hook. ‘You’re not doing it right’, Will stated and looked over Hannibal’s shoulder. He reached around Hannibal’s torso to reach the hook. Hannibal could feel Will’s warm chest on his back and leaned into the touch. Will put his hands over Hannibal’s larger hands and guided him. Finally, the bait was attached properly, but Will didn’t let go of Hannibal. Hannibal turned his head around and inhaled audibly. ‘Did you just… smell me?’, Will asked. ‘Difficult to avoid. Your perfume doesn’t quite suit you. I guess it’s something with a fish on a bottle?’, Hannibal asked. ‘I keep getting it for Christmas’, Will replied and slowly let go of Hannibal. 

They started fishing and it didn’t take long for them to catch quite a few of carps. Hannibal was visibly satisfied. ‘I’m looking forward to preparing them’, he stated and broke the comfortable silence between himself and Will. ‘I’m looking forward to eating them’, Will replied. 

‘So, what do you think about soulmates?’, Hannibal asked. ‘Cheap psychology again’, Will sighed. ‘I actually love my soulmark. It’s unique. It fits me very well. I used to fantasize about who my soulmate might be when I was younger. Now, I don’t indulge in such fantasies anymore. I’m neutral towards the whole issue. The chances of finding your soulmate are very low, anyways’, he explained. ‘What about you?’, Will added. ‘My soulmark appeared very late. I never really considered searching for my soulmate. What could they offer me that another person couldn’t give me, anyways?’, Hannibal replied.

‘Seems like you got a lot of feelings about this’, Will said. ‘Indeed. My parents were soulmates. They were a horrible fit. My mother started hitting my father around the time Misha was born. Then my father started hitting us. Soon, I realized that I had to protect Misha and fled with her’, Hannibal said.

‘You were and still are quite protective of Misha’, Will observed. ‘Yes’, Hannibal replied simply.

‘Let’s get back to the port. It seems quite cloudy, I want to avoid getting into a storm. We have enough fish anyways’, Will said and hosted the sails again. Hannibal cleaned the fishing rods and put them back into their boxes. There was more wind during their sail back to the port, so Will focussed on sailing and didn’t talk a lot. Hannibal was okay with it, since he got the opportunity to see Will in action. Every movement of his was precise, he had the confidence of someone who started sailing very early in his live. He was a wonderful view.

 

687 Bayshore Avenue - Suite 200, Baltimore, Maryland

Hannibal unlocked the door and opened it so Will could enter his house first. It was large and decorated with a lot of art: Paintings, statues and so on. ‘Do you draw yourself?’, Will asked. ‘Occasionally’, Hannibal replied. ‘I can show you some of my sketches later’, he added. ‘I’d love to see them’, Will said. Hannibal took Will’s coat and put it on the wardrobe next to the door. Then, he took off his own coat and smiled. He had Will Graham exactly where he wanted him. 

Will put the bucket full of crabs on the kitchen counter and looked around. The cooking area was quite modern, with lots of useful tools and a well-stocked pantry. Hannibal Lecter didn’t seem to approach anything half-hearted. ‘I’ll need approximately an hour to prepare the fish. Feel free to explore my library in the meantime’, Hannibal said. Will nodded and left the kitchen. He found himself in a long hallway, clueless where the library might be. He opened doors randomly until he found Hannibal’s huge office. It was a square room with two storeys, the walls full of shelves full of books. He found many classics, some books that were unbeknownst to him, a few Lithuanian, German, Italian and French books, and - of course – dozens of of psychology books. Will recognized some of his favourite books, and smiled when he found Orlando by Virginia Woolf. 

He got so immersed into scanning through Hannibal’s library that he didn’t notice Hannibal entering the room. Hannibal put a hand on his shoulder to get his attention. Will jerked around in surprise, but caught himself immediately when he realized it was just Hannibal. ‘I’m sorry, Will. I called you a few times, but you didn’t seem to hear me’, Hannibal explained. ‘No problem. I get caught in my own head easily’, Will explained. ‘Let’s eat’, he proposed. They went to the dining room together. Hannibal had prepared the table already, there were white candles and red wine on it. 

They sat down opposite each other. Will noted that Hannibal didn’t sit down at the head of the table. By sitting in face to face with Will, he declared them equals. ‘Sichuan Fried Carp with a hint of citrus, French Pears Belle Helene and finally, a red chateau de pomero’, Hannibal declared and pointed at each dish one after another. He poured Will some red wine and raised his glass. Will did the same. ‘Cheers’, they said simultaneously. Will didn’t bother scenting the wine, instead he took a sip of it immediately. A warm flavour covered his tongue and lips. Hannibal watched him closely. Then, Will took the cutlery into his hands and started eating. He was visibly pleased with the fish, eating a bit slower than in the morning and really savouring the dish. ‘This is delicious’, Will concluded after a few bites. Hannibal grinned. ‘I’m glad you like it.’ ‘It’s beautiful’, Will replied. 

After dinner, Hannibal proceeded into the living room and took some of his sketchbooks out of a drawer. ‘I promised to show you some of my drawings’, he said and laid them down on the living room table. ‘Am I allowed to just open them?’, Will asked. ‘Yes, my dear’, Hannibal answered and made Will shudder a bit. ‘My dear...’, he thought and smiled unconsciously. Will took one of the old-looking books and opened it. There were lots of buildings Will knew from his travels through Europe: The Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, the Brandenburger Tor and so on. But most of the places were unbeknownst to him. ‘What’s that?’, Will asked Hannibal. ‘It’s my boarding school. I entered it in 10th grade and found that I had no problems catching up with the curriculum. I had lots of free time on my hands, so I drew a lot during that time. You can see some of my fellow students on the following pages’, he explained. ‘The amount of detail is incredible’, Will remarked. ‘I learnt early that a scalpel cuts better than a sharpener’, Hannibal said. Will kept browsing the sketchbooks and found more of the places Hannibal visited and the humans he met. 

‘Those aren’t your personal sketchbooks’, Will stated. ‘They are for exercising your drawing skills and for the public eye. The drawings are too matter-of-factly. You got other sketchbooks, hidden away, filled with your ideas, your thoughts and more importantly: Your personality.’ 

‘You’re a good observer, Will. This is true. My thoughts are often not delicate’

‘Neither are mine’, Will replied.

 

Will stretched himself a bit and looked across the room. A huge piano caught his eye. ‘I used to play a bit. May I?’, he asked. ‘You may’, Hannibal replied curiously. Will sat down on the piano stool and closed his eyes for a moment. Then he started playing. Hannibal couldn’t identify the piece, he supposed it was one of Will’s own compositions. It begun happy, but more and more melancholic elements came up over time. There was a turning point, afterwards it got a darker shade and told the listener a story of death and loneliness. Finally, Will stopped. ‘I’m sorry, I got carried away by my thoughts’, he apologized. ‘I consider it beautiful, Will’, Hannibal replied and placed himself right behind the music stool. He let his hands stroll over Will’s neck and shoulders, massaging the tension out of him. Will relaxed under his touch and leaned his head against Hannibal’s chest. Hannibal kept touching him, kneading his shoulders and stroking his neck. Will felt as if he was melting and let out a soft sigh. ‘You’re stiff’, Hannibal stated. ‘Thinking about serial killers doesn’t exactly provide the fundament for a peaceful mind’, Will replied dryly. ‘You’re not merely thinking about them. You become them’, Hannibal replied. ‘Indeed. What are your abysses, Dr. Lecter?’, Will asked and turned around to look Hannibal straight into the eyes. ‘My abysses… I only have one. It’s my soulmate. I can’t bear the thought of someone being forced upon me by biology’, Hannibal said. ‘Seems like you have a dislike for not being in control. Nature chose someone for you and you don’t want to be influenced in your decisions by anyone’, Will states. 

‘That’s not entirely true’, Hannibal replied and cupped Will’s cheek with his right hand. ‘I wouldn’t mind losing my control to you, Will’, he whispered. Will stood up and put his hands around Hannibal’s neck. ‘Wouldn’t you?’, he asked in the same low tone. Before Hannibal could answer, Will pulled Hannibal towards him and kissed him fiercely. Hannibal let himself be kissed fiercely, moving even closer towards Will by putting his arms around him. Will never felt more confident in kissing another person, Hannibal’s lips were so soft and warm and despite being more passive, Hannibal was far from inactive. Finally, Hannibal broke off the kiss. ‘I’m afraid my need for oxygen can’t be suppressed forever’, he said dryly and Will chuckled a bit. 

They messed around like teenagers, and honestly, Will was enjoying it immensely. Finally, he fell asleep, Hannibal’s arms encircling him protectively. 

The first thing Will felt when he woke up was Hannibal’s chest against his back. It proved very warm and comfortable. The second thing was far less appealing: The harsh ringtone of his mobile. Its sound cut through the comfortable mood like a warm knife through butter. ‘I gotta get this’, Will mumbled apologetically. Hannibal didn’t reply, instead he just tucked Will a bit closer and kissed his neck. Will freed himself gently but determined from Hannibal’s grip and took a look at his phone. Jack was calling. Sighing, Will accepted the call. ‘Finally I’m reaching you. Where are you?!’, Jack exclaimed annoyed. ‘What’s the matter?’, Will asked, consciously not answering Jack’s question. ‘It’s two boys. Hung in their school. The janitor found them just thirty minutes ago. I need you, Will’, he explained. ‘Where?’, Will replied briefly. ‘I’ll send you the address via SMS. Be there ASAP’, Jack ordered and hung up. 

Will stretched himself and huffed. What a comforting start into the day…

He was startled by Hannibal, who laid his head on his shoulder. ‘I didn’t hear you moving’, Will said. ‘I suppose you have to go?’, Hannibal asked. ‘Indeed’, Will replied. ‘I’ll give you one of my shirts. Yours is wrinkled from sleeping in it’, Hannibal replied. ‘You don’t have to...’, Will protested half-heartedly, but Hannibal was already out of the room. Half a minute later, he reappeared with a simple black shirt, which looked casual but almost a bit too elegant considering Will’s style. 

Will went into the bathroom to wash his face, put a bit of toothpaste in his mouth (Was it too early to ask Hannibal for a personal toothbrush? - Probably), and finally changed from his wrinkled shirt into the fine-looking black shirt. It wasn’t a perfect fit but still looked fine. Since when did he even care about the way he looked? Will shook his head at himself and out of habit sprayed himself with his aftershave. Only to realize that in fact it wasn’t his, it was Hannibal’s. Well done, Agent Graham. Will could only hope that Hannibal wouldn’t mind. 

Feeling a lot cleaner, he stepped out of the bathroom and into Hannibal’s bedroom. He found that Hannibal was just dressing and – his naked back looked quite fine. The man must have noticed him but resumed putting on his shirt calmly. 

Will’s heart dropped. Hannibal had chains all over his body. Three huge chains, to be exact. Three huge chains, just like Will. He felt a bit light-headed suddenly. He found his soulmate. He dreamt of this moment for years, during the lonely years of his youth. This was the moment he had fantasised about a thousand times. This man was… his soulmate. And this man… didn’t want his soulmate.

When Hannibal finally turned around, he smiled at first but his expression grew concerned quickly. ‘Are you alright, Will?’, he asked concerned. ‘Of course’, Will replied. ‘You look as if you had just seen a ghost’, Hannibal said. ‘I’m just… not a morning person’, Will said. ‘I have to go anyways’, he added. 

‘Oh no, I’m not letting you go without breakfast’, Hannibal replied confidently and swept Will into his kitchen. He put out some sausages, bread, pre-cooked eggs, coffee and an extravagant-looking fruit salad. ‘I’m sorry, I can’t offer you a better breakfast in such a short time. I imagine you’re quite in a hurry, but at least eat something, Will. Jack can wait ten minutes longer’, he reassured Will.

Despite being tense, Will had to laugh at that a bit. ‘This is more than generous of you, Hannibal’, he replied and sat down at the kitchen counter next to Hannibal. He ate fast, so there wasn’t much room for conversation. He felt Hannibal looking at him, trying to make sense of his coldness when just the evening before Will fell asleep in his arms. ‘I’d be no problem for me to drive you to the scene’, Hannibal offered. ‘No, thank you. They don’t allow non-FBI people there, so you’d have to wait in the car far too long’, Will refused. Hannibal could feel that this wasn’t quite the whole truth but couldn’t find out what was wrong. Had he offended Will in any way? He let the morning pass in his mind again: They woke, the phone was ringing. Will stood up and talked to Jack. Hannibal hugged him and gave him a shirt. Will came out of the bathroom, smelling of Hannibal’s aftershave. The thought of it made his stomach feel hot. Then, Will suddenly became irritated. Oh. ‘Did you see my soulmark, Will? Do you feel insecure because of it?’, he inquired. Will almost chocked on his coffee. ‘I don’t care about my soulmate. They’re irrelevant to me. I want you, Will’, Hannibal said straightforward. ‘I’m afraid that you won’t like my soulmark’, Will managed to mumble. ‘It can’t be worse than mine’, Hannibal replied. ‘Mine is the reason I avoided public pools as a young adult. Most people have a small symbol somewhere. But mine is all over my body. The scientific consensus is that the more higher the surface the soulmark covers, the higher is the compatibility between soulmates. But I don’t think my soulmate could give me anything that someone else couldn’t give me’, Hannibal elaborated. 

That was enough. Will stood up in a slow and composed manner. ‘Thank you for your hospitality’, he said and went into the corridor to grab his coat. He put it on and did his best to suppress the tears welling up inside of him. Hannibal followed him and kissed him deeply. Will responded fiercely. Hannibal was his soulmate, after all. He decided to keep his encounter with him in high memory, after all it was unlikely to be repeated, considering what Hannibal thought about soulmates. 

His own soulmate didn’t want him. Just like his father never truly wanted him.

‘Goodbye, Will. Please don’t hesitate to call me’, Hannibal said and watched Will drive away. 

 

Catonsville High School 

Will drove into the high school parking lot and stopped the engine. He pulled the key out of the ignition lock and let his head sink onto the driver’s wheel. Unable to think about anything else than Hannibal, he sunk deeply into sadness. ‘They’re irrelevant to me’, Hannibal had stated. How would he react if he found out that Will was his soulmate? Would he still want him? Will sensed that Hannibal didn’t exactly held his soulmark in high regard. He nearly despised it. In Hannibal’s mind, it was scarcely more than a disgrace one held at bay by showing no-one and ignoring it in the hopes of it being irrelevant to his life. Why couldn’t he just have a normal soulmate? Will felt cold and his stomach felt empty due to the fact that he just sipped some coffee during Hannibal’s little hate speech about his soulmate – about Will. Why did Will even care so much about it? He should just move on. Yeah, moving on sounded good. He’d text Hannibal he wasn’t interested in him or something like that. Leave it be. 

Probably the whole occasion was nothing special for Hannibal. He was so confident, having a person over for a night probably wasn’t uncommon for him. Changing lovers, it would suit him. Will was sure he interpreted too much into the evening. To Hannibal, he was just one of many.

Nothing special. Not remarkable at all. 

Will got pulled out of his thoughts by an unreasonably happy Beverly Katz knocking on the window of his car.  
‘Good morning Will’, she chirped when he opened the door and left the car.  
‘Good morning’, he replied neutrally.  
‘You look as if you had just seen a ghost’, Beverly remarked.  
‘You’re already the second person to tell me that today’, Will said while they were walking towards the school’s entrance.  
‘So, what’s her name?’, Beverly inquired and smiled approvingly at Will.  
‘Excuse me?’, Will said, trying to look mildly confused.  
‘Will, I became an FBI agent for a reason. You’re wearing an expensive cologne you would never have bought for yourself. Additionally, you’re wearing a dog hair free, ironed shirt. Tell me, what’s her name?’, Beverly replied.  
Will couldn’t help but admire Beverly’s observant and assertive manner. 

‘There’s nobody’, he simply said.  
‘Oh Will, it’s below you to lie through your teeth like this’, Beverly teased him.  
Jack Crawford approached them. Will has never felt more relief by the sight of the head of the behavioural science unit. ‘FINALLY. Will, what took you so long?’, he asked. ‘Oh, nevermind, you have to take a look at the scene immediately’, he added and signalled Will to follow him. Like an obedient dog, Will went along with Jack. They entered the school together. ‘This is ugly. Really ugly’, Jack warned Will. Then he opened the door to the changing rooms.

There were two children hanging from the ceiling. There were nooses tied neatly around their neck. Otherwise, they looked calm. Peaceful. 

‘I’ll leave you. Take your time, Will’, Jack said and closed the door behind himself. Will was now alone with the two dead bodies. He took a closer look around the room. There were the usual changing room items: Old closets, benches, hooks. Everything looked cheap and used. There were old sports shoes lying around and bread crumbs on the floor. He could smell sweat and blood. When he was done inspecting the room, he raised his head to look at the children. Two young boys. Maybe eight years old. Both had blonde hair. They wore formal attire and were styled neatly: Not a single hair out of place. Disregarding the rope around their necks, they seemed to be unharmed. ‘Well, hello’, Will mumbled. He closed his eyes and put himself into the killer’s mindset. 

‘I am frustrated’, he said out loudly, ‘I w a n t you. Iwantyou. I am more than four times your age, still I want you. I can’t holdmyself back. It’s killing me’, he hissed. 

‘I put you out of my mind. I change schools. There is someone new. A woman. She’s beautiful. She looks at me while I hold my P.E. lessons. But she doesn’t bring me any joy. They… are more beautiful. I still want them. I don’t want to lose my job. I have to hold myself back. I can’t. They’re suspecting me. I can hear their looks when I walk on the hallways. I can see the rumours about me hanging in the air. I can’t stop this. I know they’re after me. They’ll catch me. How can I stop them? I can’t let them catch me. I’ll just kill myself’, he whispered.

‘I can’t! I can’t. I got the gun in my hands, yet I find myself unable to pull the trigger. It’s me or them. I have to go. I can’t harm them. I don’t want to harm them. I want to kill myself...’, he added. 

‘I still didn’t do it. The next day at school, I feel even guiltier. I’m sure they know. They must all know. They are after me. They’ll catch me. I didn’t do anything. They wanted it… they enjoyed it. It wasn’t wrong. Was it? It wasn’t wrong. Was it? It wasnt wrong, was it? It wasn’t wrong, was it? It wasn’t wrong, was it?’, he repeated over and over again.

‘It’s midnight. I made a decision. I have to go. No, they have to go. I’ll take them with me. They won’t make their way to the school trip. I’ll take them. I’ll relieve them from life. It’s them. It’s not my fault. It’s them. It’s them. It’s not me. It’s them. I buy beautiful clothing. They’re kids. They don’t know that they are sin. I am spending too much on these suits. It doesn’t matter, they’ll look beautiful. One last time. Their beauty will die with them. I’ll be FREE’, Will exclaimed.

‘I am carrying them with me. I bring them home with me. They are naive. They are happy. I am nice to them. I give them ice cream. They smile at me. Soon, they won’t be able to smile anymore. I smile at the thought of it. I’ll be FREE. I drug them. I use them. I murder them’, Will eventually said

Slowly, he regained consciousness of himself. Taking deep breaths, he put what he found out in order. A profile of the man came together in his mind, hopefully there was enough in there for Jack. Will brushed some of his dark curls behind his ears. He felt something wet on his fingers. Looking at them, he realized that his cheeks were wet from tears. Will Graham cried without noticing it.

 

One minute later, he stepped out of the room and ran directly into Jack, who was waiting in front of the door. In case he heard Will talking to himself, he didn’t mention it. The rest of the team was standing at the end of the long corridor, having a lively debate about their findings so far. Jack called them over and Will prepared himself for giving them a short overview.

‘We’re looking for a guy. Late thirties or older. Was a teacher for a few years. Quit for no obvious reason. Kept working at different schools, just not as a teacher’, he explained briefly. ‘Why did he kill them?’, Jack asked immediately. ‘By his logic, he worshipped them. Used them for his sexual pleasure. Increased their value. Then, he felt threatened. Started hearing voiced, felt as if everyone was looking at him. He got paranoia. He wanted to stop himself from raping them again, so he killed them to ‘save’ them’, Will elaborated, without looking into anyone’s eyes.

Nobody said anything for a second. They were professionals, dealing with hard cases every day – but, due to the young age of the victims, this was hard to stomach. ‘Alright. I have obtained a staff list, so let’s start with this. Is there anyone we can exclude, Will?’, Jack asked.

‘Women’, Will answered promptly. ‘And anyone who is under thirty. And the teachers. He’s more likely to be working here at the snack bar or in cleanin…’, he stopped talking all out of the sudden and his skin turned white. ‘Jack. What did you say, who found them?’, Will asked. ‘The janitor. We interrogated him, he had a plausible alibi’, Jack explained. ‘Jack, I’m pretty sure it was him. He’s used to lying in order to hide his paedophilia. Did you check his alibi?’, Will inquired. ‘I sent two men out in order to question his wife’, Jack answered and looked at his phone. ‘Got no response so far...’, he said in an irritated voice. ‘Jack, I’m sure it was him. He got the keys to the locker rooms. He used to be a PE teacher. He might have lied to you and is now on the run...’, Will explained. 

‘Shit!’, Jack exclaimed. ‘I released him just a few minutes before you came… now, he could be anywhere’, he sighed. ‘He doesn’t know we know. So maybe we could just pretend to have another suspect? He told us the keys were stolen from his office, so we could pretend to question him about that’, Beverly suggested. ‘He could panic and escape. I suggest we observe his home, he will return there tonight. I don’t think he’s going to run, otherwise he wouldn’t have called the police. He’s trying to stay unobtrusive’, Will explained. 

‘Alright. Beverly, Will you do a background check on the suspect. Zeller, Price, you do the autopsy. The team is almost done with recording the evidence. I’m going to call the two officers I sent to his wife’, Jack ordered and left the building to make the call.

Beverly looked at Will happily. ‘Great, now she’s going to question me about my potential lover again’, Will thought, bugged out. ‘Let’s drive to the headquarters. I need access to the FBI database. Do you think he has a police record?’, Beverly asked. ‘Very unlikely. No school would have hired him with a record’, Will answered.  
‘Where do we start… We need to call the headmaster and get his application. Check his credentials, his identity, his birth certificate and everything. We might be able to find out where he taught before and ask around there’, Beverly said. ‘It’s very likely that he didn’t mention his teaching in the application. He probably invented some jobs. Who would want to work as a janitor when you got a diploma?’, Will said. ‘Alright. Then let’s wait for the information from the questioning team’, Beverly replied. They left the school and entered the parking lot. Will unlocked his car and held open the door for Beverly politely.

‘Thank you, Will’, she said cheerfully and dropped into his seat. Beverly put a bottle of green tea out of her backpack and took some sipps. Will left the parking lot and drove onto the street. ‘Uh, you packed lunch? How unlike you’, Beverly asked innocently. ‘What?’, Will asked confused. ‘There’s a box of fruit salad and noodles in the back of your car. Oh my god, you even packed dips! It looks delicious. Didn’t know you like cooking’, she said. ‘He didn’t’, Will thought. ‘Who didn’t?’, Beverly chirped. Apparently Will thought out loud. ‘My not-boyfriend’, Will said through gritted teeth. ‘That’s so cute!’, Beverly said with enthusiasm. ‘I’m glad you found someone’, she told him. ‘I did not find someone! We’re not together’, Will said. ‘Oh, right, he just irons your shirts and packs you lunch. No, you’re not even dating. Riiight’, Beverly stated. 

‘I don’t think he wants me’, Will sighed and turned into the FBI headquarters’ entrance. ‘Are you sure? After all, he seems to be quite caring’, Beverly inquired. Will sighed. ‘There’s something he doesn’t know about me yet. He won’t like it’, he explained. Beverly hesitated for a moment. ‘Are you insecure because you’re trans?’, she asks in a soothing tone. ‘No, that’s not it’, Will replied and shut down the engine. ‘And I don’t want to talk about it anymore’, he said resolute. ‘How do you know I’m trans, anyways?’, Will asked. ‘I didn’t become an FBI agent for no reason’, Beverly said for the second time that day and winked at him. ‘Oh dear, I thought I was the one psychoanalysing people...’, Will remarked and they laughed about it together.

**Author's Note:**

> Tell me your opinion in the comments!


End file.
